Coach Tom Coughlin - 10/24

Coach Tom Coughlin meets the media for his weekly press conference

COUGHLIN: Good morning, good morning. Dallas Cowboys, in the division, let’s go! Some of you guys are a little down, today. Let’s get excited. Tenth overall offensively, seventh in passing, ninth on third down, fifth in the league on defense, and only one 100-yard rusher against. They have an outstanding special teamer. They have two punters on the roster, currently. Of course, Dez Bryant back deep. (Cowboys kicker Dan) Bailey is having an outstanding year. So, here we go in the division, at Dallas. The opening game of the year was a very disappointing game for us. We didn’t play as well as we hoped to play. We didn’t deserve to win. Let’s hope we can have a better go of it this week. I’m sure there are no questions after that. I’ll get on to practice.

Q: On Monday, Martellus Bennett said that he thought he had played his worst game on Sunday. I’m just curious if you think he’s being overly harsh.A: I hope so. He played okay. He didn’t play really well, he played okay. There are some things that he and I talked about, that he certainly can play better, do better. He agreed. So, we have a new challenge this week, which is to try and get better.

Q: In the grand scheme of how Eli likes to play the game, where does having this type of athleticism at tight end factor in?A: It definitely can be a greater asset. He is a threat. He’s a threat down the seam, he’s a threat in the middle of the field in two-deep. He’s fast, he’s long, he can reach up for the ball, and we perhaps haven’t taken full advantage of that yet, but it’s a two-way street. I mean, you have to build in confidence. Being in a certain place at a certain time, the ball will be there. You have to make a play when the ball does come.

Q: Corey Webster is not on the injury report today. How is his hamstring?A: According to Ronnie (Barnes), he’s well enough to come off.

Q: Can you talk about this? I mean, he’s played through it.A: Yes, he has.

Q: Have you noticed? It seems like his speed is not quite there.A: Hopefully, he’s well enough to change that opinion.

Q: Can you talk about Victor Cruz’s ability to make the big play in the big spot?A: Well, we’ve seen it over and over again. We saw it a year ago. We saw it the other day. Let’s hope it continues. There’s great communication between Eli and Victor, and Eli and Hakeem, and some of the other guys. That certainly showed up big again the other day.

Q: As you’re a little bit deeper into the season, do you feel that you’re a healthier team now than you were in the opener?A: Well, let’s hope so. That’s the objective, is trying to get to that. Trying to get to the point where some of these names come off that list.

Q: Do you think your run defense will have to step up given what the Cowboys did the first game?A: And what the Cowboys have done from that point on. When you look at those Baltimore stats, ‘wow.’ That’s a “wow” game. We’ve got to play better, fundamentally sound, run defense (with) all 11 people chasing the ball. We have to tackle better. If you look at the first game, you can make your critique as long as you want. We’ll start there.

Q: Their yardage numbers really haven’t converted into as many points as you might expect. Any thoughts?A: I think probably in the red zone they haven’t done as well.

Q: Do you expect with their ability, that number may rise soon?A: I hope not. It shouldn’t happen till after this week.

Q: How different is preparing for their defense without Sean Lee?A: You know... (Dan) Connor is a good player. He’s played in this league; he’s played in their scheme. When they go to a three-linebacker scheme, he plays. He’s physical, he’s a veteran, he’s good instinctively. Obviously, Sean Lee is their leading tackler, so there will be a factor there. Connor is a good player.

Q: In Week 1, they did a good job at getting the ball out fast to beat your pass rush. Are you better prepared to face that now?A: Well, we’re better prepared because we’ve seen it a lot. It’s what you’re going to do about it that is the key. Let’s hope we play all of that better.

Q: What is it about Romo in the pocket? Is it his ability to move around?A: One thing was mentioned, the ball does come out fast and he likes it that way. He’s very accurate in the pocket. If you don’t have any pressure on him, his accuracy is going to rise, that’s for sure. He’s very good in there; he has a great sense of where the pressure is coming from and he reacts. He does well on the run throwing the football. I don’t think he really wants to keep it and run with it, but it’s the threat of that. He’s athletic enough to threaten running with the ball as well. He’s good at it; he’s been good at it for a long time.

Q: Do you think Canty will play more than 20-30 snaps this upcoming game?A: I would think a little bit, yeah. Sure.

Q: He came out ok?A: He did, he came out fine.

Q: Thoughts on Canty’s performance vs. Washington:A: For the first time out there? Let’s face it, it’s the first time. He had no previous scrimmage work at all, and did well and took care of himself. I thought he’s a big plus and this will extend that plus even greater.

Q: We all remember the last play of the game, but there were some shaky moments for Eli during that game on Sunday. What do you see about the way Eli assesses a performance like that? Is he just happy to get the win?A: No. He’s very conscientious of what has transpired and what has happened and very sensitive and desiring to make the corrections that are necessary, understand what happened in the circumstances that… For example, the two interceptions were thrown and he works hard to correct it and he does not want to be in a position where he puts his defensive team in that spot.

Q: When did Baas’ ankle injury happen?A: Early.

Q: Would he be able to practice today?A: No, he’s not going today.

Q: Is it not a major concern this week for Baas?A: Well, he’s not going to practice today.

Q: Do you expect Hakeem to go a full week like he did last week?A: Yes.

Q: How about with Ahmad?A: No, he won’t work today.

Q: Tomorrow?A: I hope so.

Q: You mentioned last week that you didn’t want to get into this once-a-week deal. Do you fear that you’re getting back into that with Ahmad?A: I don’t know. This is the second week and he clenches his teeth and goes and does it, but the fact of the matter is if we have to adjust, we have to adjust.

Q: If Baas isn’t going, does Boothe move over to center and Diehl go to guard?A: Well, they work in there in combination. Cordle will get some snaps at center as well.

Q: Any extra emtion to look out for from Martellus going back to Dallas?A: He seemed pretty good for the opener, so I may say something to him or ask him to explain it to me, but I don’t sense any issue.